The management of workload plays an important role in computing environments today. Thus, various aspects of processing within a computing environment are scrutinized to ensure a proper allocation of resources and to determine whether any constraints exist. One type of processing that is scrutinized is I/O processing.
In I/O processing, workload management includes properly allocating channels to control units. To determine whether the allocation is sufficient, channel delay is measured. Previously, the metric of channel delay included measuring the response times.
The use of response times in determining channel delay, however, has not been as accurate, as desired. This is because it is not always known what constitutes a good response time. The value of a response time and whether or not it is satisfactory depends on various factors, including the type of input/output that is being performed (e.g., whether it is transferring large or small amounts of data).
Thus, a need still exists for a more accurate metric of channel delay. A further need exists for a capability that more accurately determines when a controller constraint exists.